Website design & local SEO made simple.

Facebook may get the lion’s share of attention, but Google+ has been flying under the radar as an SEO powerhouse that dominates the search results. While Facebook and Twitter still remain a critical aspect of modern Internet marketing, both of these networks have restricted Google’s access to the bulk of their data, limiting their SEO power.

This is not the case with Google+. For example, if you are a Google+ user and search for your own name, your Google+ posts will dominate the search results, even if you are a regular Facebook or Twitter user. Chances are Google+ will even beat the results of your own personal blog.

Due to the obvious importance of Goggle+ for SEO, here are some simple ways to harness the SEO power of Google+ and dominate the search results.

Follow Your Profile Links

In addition to allowing you to link to all of your other social media profiles, Google+ also allows you to directly embed followed links into your bio with any anchor text you want. Although theoretically every link has the same value, if you link directly to your profile, share your posts, and engage with more people, you can increase the value of your profile links.

Embed Post Links

Similar to profile links, you can also add followed links to your Google+ posts. In fact, you can add as many as you want. To do this, simply insert the entire URL and it will automatically be formatted as a link. The more a post is linked to, shared, and +1’ed, the more the value of the link will increase. A simple one-sentence post can have a PageRank of three or better and be regularly cached by Google.

Optimize Your Google+ Title Tags

In Google+, the first sentence of every post becomes a part of the title tag, which is tremendously important for rankings and click-through rates. Therefore, you should carefully construct the first sentence with the right keywords and keep potential readers in mind. A post that has a good title and is widely shared can easily rank for the chosen keywords.

Quickly Index New Content

When new content is shared on Google+, Google’s indexing response times are near instantaneous. In the old Internet days, it would take weeks for a website to get indexed. Today, however, it’s now as quick and easy as hitting a +1 button, so you should share new content on Google+ for lightning fast indexation and to exploit Google Plus for SEO domination.

Connect with Influential People

On Google+, there are nearly 20 notification triggers that allow you to connect with influential people in your industry. You can gently introduce yourself to these influencers by doing the following:

Mention them in a post

Follow their post comment with a comment of your own

Add them to a circle

Tag a photo of theirs

Comment on a photo they tagged, and a dozen other quick and easy actions

Check Your CircleRank

CircleCount is a terrific new tool. Simply by inserting your Google+ URL, you’ll be able to chart the growth of your following, how viral your posts are, and see how you CircleRank score compares against every other Google+ profile.

Interestingly, Britney Spears has the best CircleRank out of all of the profiles on Google+.

Actually Use Google+ to Harness its Power

Although Google+ has witnessed explosive growth, only 25 percent of people use it at least once a month, and even less use Goggle+ for SEO. All of these tips are useless unless you regularly use Google+. Even though people are beginning to catch on to the power of Google+, there’s still time to jump onboard and reap SEO rewards simply by doing the following for ten minutes each day:

If all of this sounds too painstaking or time consuming for you, CinchLocal.com has proven to be a trusted leader in social media marketing and Google Plus for SEO. By utilizing their expert services, your SEO and social media exposure can be taken to the next level.

Google has been making it increasingly obvious that they are targeting business owners with Google+. Google+ Local was just the start. The rumored and highly anticipated "Business Builder" dashboard is another feature that will benefit businesses. While you are waiting for that to come out, you can use Google+ as a business page and leave reviews of other businesses.

The Benefits of Leaving Reviews as a Page

Leaving reviews of other businesses as a page is a way to socially network your business through Google+. You are essentially recommending the best businesses or warning people off bad businesses through a professional front. This means you can drop your personal profile while promoting yours and other businesses, a convenience other social networks have had for years.

Why Use Barnacle Reviews on Google+ Local?

The idea behind Barnacle Reviews on Google+ Local is putting yourself out there on bigger pages and getting exposure that way. In other words, behaving like a barnacle clinging to other objects. It is much more savvy and sane than it sounds.

Google+ Local has a pretty cool advantage that other social networking and business sites do not generally offer, either by design or just by accident. If you post your reviews properly, you will stick more so more people see you. In other words, you will not be crushed under the weight of the Internet.

How to Get Started

All you have to do to start using Google+ Local as your business is to go into your Google+ account, hit the dropdown on the right showing your pages, select your business page and go. Start by reviewing similar businesses, maybe even those that work with you. The hope is that they will see your review and reciprocate or their customers will and may come to you. Move on to bigger relevant businesses as your network grows. Be careful not to be "spammy" and flood them with reviews. Craft one good review. Finding Relevant Businesses

Google Maps. Google Maps has a great feature that allows you to search for local businesses by keyword. Use a keyword relevant to your business and you will find others like it in the area.

Other reviews. The Internet is full of reviews for products and businesses. Search popular review sites and social sites like Foursquare to see what businesses people like. These are the businesses that will get visibility.

The Actual Review

Well, you found places to review easily enough, but what about writing a review? The golden rule of reviews is to ditch generic phrases. "Great place!" is not going to suffice. Actually use the business. Be specific. List good qualities, tips for consumers and sprinkle in the praise. Anything that is straight praise with no substance looks disingenuous to savvy Internet users.

You want your Barnacle Review on Google+ Local to be considered helpful by the community. Otherwise, it will sink like a stone. Speaking of which, avoid flowery metaphors and clichés like the one you just read. Keep it factual. Keep it useful and you will be rated up by Google+ and stick to the top of the pile like a, well, barnacle.

The Bottom Line

This method may not work for businesses that are targeting major industry markets. For example, it is unlikely that huge corporations are looking for suppliers through Google+ Local. You are going to do the best with this method if your target is the average consumer. Say you run a flower shop and someone out of town is coming to see family. They do not know where the flower shop is, but Google+ does because you told it. If your business is on your page and on every other relevant page in the area and you are seen being helpful, you are more likely to get the kind of customer who uses social networks to find businesses.